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But it only lasted for a split second.
A hand clasped around my wrist, and my eyes shot open.
I couldn’t even make a sound as everything got choked up in my throat.
“I got you!” Damiano grunted, almost out of breath.
He was drenched in sweat, his face contorted in a frown, and he groaned as half of his body hung over the edge while gripping my arm tightly. Damiano gritted his teeth, struggling to pull me up as my body swayed in the air.
“I’m slipping!” I choked out, my heart nearly stopping as I fell an inch.
“You’re not leaving me!” He growled.
He used the safety railing with his legs for support and reached for me with his other arm. Panting heavily, sweat dripped from his face as he exerted every ounce of strength to haul me back up to safety.
When half of my body was on the platform, he wrapped his arms tightly around me and pulled me in. Damiano was on his back with me on top of him, both of us in an iron grip.
We were both panting, and my entire body was shaking - not from the effort, but from the realization that I had narrowly escaped the same brutal fate as Carlos.
“Are you okay?” Damiano’s voice was strained as he spoke but still held me to him, afraid to let me go.
“J-just hold me, please.” I cried, burying my face in his neck.
Tears streamed down my face, and I couldn’t discern whether it was from fear of almost meeting my end, or from relief that he saved me.
Damiano’s arms slowly loosened their hold on me and slid down. I raised my head to look at him. His eyes were closed, and he was looking unusually pale.
“Damiano?” I called after him, panicking when he didn’t respond. “Damiano?” I tapped his cheek a few times as I kept calling his name.
But he didn’t respond.
He didn’t wake up.
“Damiano!” I shouted. “No, no, no, please wake up!” My tears fell down his face.
“Y-you can’t leave me… we-we haven’t had enough time… please, come back to me.” But there was still no response, and his eyes remained shut.
I sobbed as I cradled his head into my arms.
“Come back to me, my love…” I whispered, refusing to accept I was holding my dead husband.
I frantically looked around his body to figure out what was happening to him.
His gunshot wound!
I quickly ripped his shirt up and unstrapped his vest, but nothing prepared me for the sight.
His wound was open, and blood flowed out too fast. I immediately tried to stop the bleeding with my hands, watching the blood seep out between my fingers and cover my hands.
I rapidly blinked away my tears to clear my sight, but they continued to stream down my face as I tried to think how to help him.
Shakily, I grabbed his shirt again, tearing a large enough piece of cloth to wrap around him. I tied it as tightly as I could while still adding pressure. Damiano was still unmoving. He wasn’t even making a sound.
I moved up to him again, checking his pulse on the side of his neck, holding my breath as I did. I let out the biggest breath of relief when I felt his heartbeat. It was faint and slow, but it was still there.
“Althaia!”
I looked over my shoulder, seeing Lorenzo with Cara unconscious in his arms.
